BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SBX2 6| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SBX2 6 Author: Monning (D) Amended: 8/25/15 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: 9-2, 8/19/15 AYES: Hernandez, Beall, Hall, Leno, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Wolk NOES: Moorlach, Nielsen NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrell, Anderson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: Smoking in the workplace SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill prohibits smoking in owner-operated businesses and removes specified exemptions in existing law that allow tobacco smoking in certain workplaces. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes "smoke-free laws," which prohibit the smoking of tobacco products in various places, including, but not limited to, school campuses, public buildings, places of employment, apartment buildings, day care facilities, retail food facilities, health facilities, and vehicles when minors are present, and makes a violation of some of the prohibitions SBX2 6 Page 2 punishable by an infraction. 2)Prohibits employers from knowingly or intentionally permitting the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a place of employment. 3)Defines "enclosed space" as including lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms that are a structural part of the building and not specifically exempt. 4)Exempts the following from the workplace smoking prohibition: a) Sixty-five percent of guestrooms in a hotel, motel, or similar lodging establishment. b) Hotel or motel lobbies that meet certain size requirements; c) Meeting and banquet rooms in hotels or motels, except as specified; d) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private smokers' lounges, as defined; e) Warehouse facilities, as defined; f) Gaming clubs, bars and taverns; g) Private residences, except for those licensed as family day care homes; h) Patient smoking areas in long-term health care facilities; i) Break rooms designated for smoking by an employer; and j) Employers with five or fewer employees. 5)Imposes an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within one year, and $500 for a third and each subsequent violation within one year, for any violation of the indoor smoking prohibition. 6)Requires local law enforcement agencies to enforce these provisions, including local health departments, unless an employer has been found guilty of three or more violations which will require an investigation by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. 7)Sets forth a uniform statewide standard for regulating the smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment and shall supersede and render unnecessary the local enactment SBX2 6 Page 3 or enforcement of local ordinances regulating the smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment. 8)Authorizes employers to prohibit smoking in enclosed places of employment for any reason. This bill: 1)Expands on the workplace smoking prohibition by including owner-operated businesses defined as a business having no employees, independent contractors, or volunteers, in which the owner-operator of the business is the only worker. 2)Expands on the definition of "enclosed space" where smoking is prohibited to include covered parking lots. 3)Modifies the exemption that currently allows smoking in 65% of the guestroom accommodations in a hotel, motel, or similar transient lodging establishment by reducing that amount to 20%. 4)Eliminates several exemptions in law which currently allows the smoking of tobacco products in certain work environments, thereby prohibiting the smoking of tobacco products indoors at the following locations: a) Hotel or motel lobbies; b) Meeting and banquet rooms in a hotel or motel; c) Warehouse facilities; d) Gaming clubs; e) Bars and taverns; f) Employee break rooms; and, g) Businesses of employers with a total of five or fewer employees. 5)Deletes obsolete references to regulations that would have permitted smoking at gaming clubs, bars and taverns had these been adopted before January 1, 1998 by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board if a safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke were found that prevents anything other than insignificant harmful effects to exposed employees. No such regulations were ever adopted, this language is therefore obsolete. SBX2 6 Page 4 Comments 1)Author's statement. According to the author, the evidence is clear and undeniable that exposure to secondhand smoke in a workplace puts employees at risk of severe health effects. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that secondhand smoke can cause severe health conditions in adults, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and serious respiratory diseases. California was one of the first states to enact a landmark employee-protection law that addressed exposure to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke by prohibiting the smoking of tobacco products in a place of employment. While most Californians enjoy the benefits of this important workplace protection, many employees are still subjected to secondhand smoke exposure through the numerous exemptions written into the original 1994 law. The patrons who visit, and the employees who work in these unsafe work environments, are receiving unequal protection under the law, so as long as these egregious exemptions remain. This bill will eliminate the loopholes in California's smoke-free workplace law, by prohibiting smoking in owner-operated businesses, and eliminating the exemptions that allow the smoking of tobacco products in hotel lobbies, tobacco shops, warehouse facilities, and employee break rooms, and banquet and meeting rooms in hotels. 2)Health impacts of secondhand smoke. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon General, secondhand smoke exposure can cause harmful health effects that include stroke, heart disease, heart attacks, lung cancer, asthma and chronic respiratory problems, among others. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke as a Class "A" human carcinogen (cancer causing agent), the same class as asbestos. The California Air Resources Board has declared secondhand smoke to be a toxic air contaminant, in the same category as diesel exhaust. According to the Department of Public Health, (DPH) nonsmokers who are frequently exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25-30%, and lung cancer by 20-30%. The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke, ventilation cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to SBX2 6 Page 5 secondhand smoke, and establishing smoke-free environments is the only proven way to prevent exposure. (The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006). According to a 2014 report by the U.S. Surgeon General, if smoking persists at the current rate among young adults, 5.6 million of today's Americans younger than 18 years of age are projected to die prematurely from a smoking-related illness. (The Health Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress, 2014). The 2014 report also finds that the value of lost productivity due to premature deaths caused by exposure to secondhand smoke is estimated to be $5.6 billion per year ($150 billion productivity loss for smoking deaths). 3)History of smoking in the workplace in California. For years California had been the leader in the effort to fight the smoking epidemic and was often referred to as "America's Non-Smoking Section," a reputation that came about when California became the first state in the country to ban smoking in nearly every workplace; effectively banning smoking in indoor public spaces. California's workplace smoking prohibition was enacted by AB 13 (Friedman, Chapter 310, Statutes of 1994), Restaurants were included in the ban, and bars, taverns, and gaming clubs were phased in by 1998. The law covers all "enclosed" places of employment; therefore, patio or outdoor dining facilities may allow smoking. While California's law is restrictive, a number of exemptions are allowed which have prevented our state from being considered a 100% smoke-free state by the CDC, 25 other states are currently considered 100% indoor workplace smoke-free. Many local jurisdictions have closed the loop on these exemptions through the enactment of local ordinances. In addition, gaming facilities not under the jurisdiction of the state (tribal casinos) are not required to comply, although some have done so voluntarily for the health of their employees and patrons. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been enough to protect people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke as evidenced by the high number of casualties. DPH estimates that the loopholes in California's smoke free workplace law currently allow one in seven employees to work in an employment setting where they could be exposed to secondhand SBX2 6 Page 6 smoke. The patrons who visit, and the employees who work in these unsafe environments, are receiving unequal protection under the law as long as these exemptions are in place. Related Legislation SBX2 5 (Leno)/ABX2 6 (Cooper) recast and broaden the definition of "tobacco product" in existing law to include electronic cigarettes as specified; extend current restrictions and prohibitions against the use of tobacco products to electronic cigarettes; extend current licensing requirements for manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of tobacco products to electronic cigarettes; and, require electronic cigarette cartridges to be child-resistant. SBX2 5 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 6 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee. ABX2 7 (Stone) prohibits smoking in owner-operated businesses and removes specified exemptions in existing law that allow tobacco smoking in certain workplaces. ABX2 7 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee. SBX2 7 (Hernandez)/ABX2 8 (Wood) increase the minimum legal age to purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to 21. SBX2 7 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 8 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee. SBX2 8 (Liu)/ABX2 9 (Thurmond and Nazarian) extend current tobacco use prevention funding eligibility and requirements to charter schools; broaden the definition of products containing tobacco and nicotine, as specified, and prohibit their use in specified areas of schools and school districts, regardless of funding; and require specified signs to be prominently displayed at all entrances to school property. SBX2 8 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 9 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee. SBX2 9 (McGuire)/ABX2 10 (Bloom) allow counties to impose a tax on the privilege of distributing cigarettes and tobacco products. SBX2 9 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 10 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and SBX2 6 Page 7 Developmental Services Committee. SBX2-10 (Beall)/ABX2-11 (Nazarian) revise the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to change the retailer license fee from a $100 one-time fee to a $265 annual fee, and increase the distributor and wholesaler license fee from $1,000 to $1,200. SBX2 10 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 11 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee. Prior Legislation SB 575 (DeSaulnier, 2011) and AB 1467 (DeSaulnier, 2007) were almost identical to this bill and would have eliminated most of the exemptions in code which permit smoking in certain work environments. SB 575 died in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, and AB 1467 was vetoed by the Governor. AB 217 (Carter, 2011) would have restricted smoking in long-term health care facilities by only allowing smoking in a designated patient smoking area that is outdoors, as specified. AB 217 was vetoed by the Governor. AB 2067 (Oropeza, Chapter 736, Statutes of 2006) prohibits smoking in covered parking lots and adds to the definition of "enclosed spaces" lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators, stairwells and restrooms that are a structural part of the building, thereby prohibiting smoking in those areas. AB 846 (Vargas, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2003) prohibits smoking inside a public building and within 20 feet of a main exit, entrance, or operable window of a public building. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified8/25/15) American Academy of Pediatrics American Cancer Society - Cancer Action Network American College of Emergency Physicians American Heart Association/American Stroke Association SBX2 6 Page 8 American Lung Association in California Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Association of Northern California Oncologists California Academy of Family Physicians California Black Health Network California Chronic Care Coalition California Dental Association California Labor Federation California Medical Association California Optometric Association California Pan-Ethnic Health Network California Primary Care Association California Society of Addiction Medicine Community Action Fund of Planned Parenthood Orange and San Bernadino Counties County Health Executives Association of California First 5 Association of California Health Access Health Officers Association of California March of Dimes, California Chapter Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc. Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest Service Employees International Union OPPOSITION: (Verified8/25/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Proponents argue that tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease, nearly 40,000 Californians lost their lives to tobacco related illnesses last year. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that secondhand tobacco smoke is a direct cause of heart disease, the number one killer of both men and women in California. According to the American Lung Association in California, smoking costs the state of California $23 billion a year in both health costs and lost productivity with $3.5 SBX2 6 Page 9 billion directly linked to Medi-Cal. Proponents argue that every Californian deserves to work in a healthy environment and should not have to make a choice between a good job and good health. Given the human cost and the economic burden of smoking, proponents believe it is time for California to catch up to the rest of the nation and become a 100% smoke-free state. Prepared by: Alma Perez / PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES / 8/25/15 16:10:20 **** END ****